In the Eyes of the Butterfly
by darkangel9314
Summary: What would happen if you woke up one morning and the life you knew was gone? What would you have done if you got a chance to start your life over? And how would you react if you had no choice in the matter? After a terrible accident claims Damon Salvatore's life , he wakes up the next morning in a life that isn't his. What will Damon do. Read and find out. Rated M in later chapters
1. Chapter 1

In the Eyes of the Butterfly

Chapter 1

There are times in everyone's life where they question where their life went wrong. They think about what they could have done better to make their life more exciting, more manageable. A life that was more worth living.

These were the thoughts running through Damon Salvatore's car as he drove his car home that night. It had been a long day at the office and all he wanted was to just go home. He hated his job, but out of all the things he hated more he hated the direction his life was going

Damon Salvatore was stuck in a dead end job going nowhere and had a wife who despised him. He wished his life was different, but it wasn't. It never would be.

Damon Salvatore assumed that it would just be another typical night at home what he hadn't assumed was what would happen next.

A couple guys at a bridge caught his attention and they were beating someone up. Normally Damon didn't see beating happening too often, but he usually stopped them when they did. Pulling over he got out of his car and approached the guys.

He swung his fist into the first one and the other two quickly approached him. He assumed that the other guy who he had just saved would help him, but Damon saw him running away in the distance obviously not to fazed about leaving him there to defend himself.

Damon struggled as the other guys picked him up and carried him to the side of the bridge.

"Here's for interfering." one of them said as he was tossed in the river.

Damon tried his hardest to fight against the current, but it was too much for him and in the end he just couldn't fight it anymore as he drowned in a pit of blackness.

Coughing he sat up in a bed he didn't recognize in a room he had never been ion before. It wasn't a hospital he knew that for sure and it wasn't his bed that he shared with Rebekah. Something had to be admist, but he didn't know what.

Usually when Damon was in a room he explored it a little more. He removed the sheets from the bed and almost immediately shattered a picture to the floor. He never kept pictures around the house. He studied the picture almost immediately taken aback by what he saw.

The picture hadn't been of him and Rebekah. It had been of him and another girl he had never seen before. Long curly brown hair reached down to her back and she had the kindest brown eyes that he had ever seen in a girl. They looked so in love in this picture, but he had no clue who she was.

He set the picture back down carefully and sat back down on the bed terrified. What was happening here? How did he get here? And what was his connection to this mysterious woman?

Damon jumped slightly and the woman who had been in the photographs appeared on the other side of the door. She smiled at him slightly as she loosened the draw strings of her robe exposing her nakedness to him, but why would she be showing him this if he was a stranger. She should be screaming or threatening for him to get out, but she wasn't.

She crawled on the bed getting as close to him as possible. He wanted to shrink back from her but he couldn't . There was just something about her that was just so entrancing. She kissed him on the lips and it wasn't just a small peck either it was a full fledged deep in love kiss that you only had with the person you had a deep connection too. Who the hell was this woman and why was she kissing him?

He pulled away from her as she looked at him with confusion.

"Who are you?" he said looking at those gorgeous brown eyes that he never wanted to look away from.

"Haha, very funny Damon. It's me Elena."

He searched his head for the name, but came up with nothing. He looked down and saw the ring on her finger. A ring that he had given Rebekah after they had been married. What had this derranged woman done with Rebekah?

"Who are you and what have you done with my wife?" he asked as sternly as possible.

Elena laughed slightly as she touched his cheek stroking it.

"You really are a good actor Damon. I'm right here silly."

He was about to yell at her when she reached over and pulled out another picture of them only this time it was a picture of them at their wedding. Damon looked down at his wedding ring different from the one Rebekah had purchased for him. Rebekah. Where was she? What was going on here? He jumped pout of the bed leaving the deranged woman behind and walked into the living room nearly cursing as he did.

Toys laid across the room as Elena ran up behind him with a look of bewilderment in her eyes.

"Damon, you're acting strange. I know you're a method actor and all but I don't remember reading any parts like this."

He turned around and looked at her. Her face was filled with genuine concern, but he had never met this woman in his life. How could she possibly be acting this way and how come there were pictures of them all over this place.

"Elena, I have to go out for a while."

"In your pajamas? Wouldn't you rather change first?"

Before he could say a word something rushed into his side and he looked down at a child who appeared no more than the age of four with blue eyes that reminded him of his.

"Arianna, what have I said about running in the house?" Elena said picking up the small child who clung onto her for dear life.

"Sorry mommy. I just wanted to say hi to daddy."

Daddy?

Damon gave them both a puzzled and confused look as he looked around the room. Traces of him and Elena were everywhere and traces of him and Rebekah were nowhere to be seen. What the hell was happening? He felt like he couldn't breath. How was this possible?

"Daddy are you okay?" the little girl said as Elena stepped closer to him.

"No!" he yelled stepping away from Elena and the small child.

They must have had the wrong guy. All he knew was that he couldn't stay here. He turned around and ran out of the apartment leaving Elena and the little girl behind.


	2. Chapter 2

In the Eyes of the Butterfly

Chapter 2

Damon couldn't believe his eyes as he looked around for his car. It was no where to be found as he looked down at the car keys he had grabbed and pressed the button. A nearby mini van responded to his constant button pressing. He had no clue where his real car had gone, but he was in too big of a hurry to fight about it at the moment. Running to the mini van as fast as he could, he hopped into it looking around for any clues that the woman he had just saw, who claimed to be his wife, was just a nut job who had kidnapped him from the bridge and brought him back to his house so he could play daddy to her child that she had with somewhere else. After all there was no way in hell that that little girl could be his.

But as he dug further he found countless documents that had her name on it, Elena Salvatore. Elena Salvatore, and Elena Salvatore. He even found a report for the little girl that had the name Arianna Salvatore. His daughter. His daughter and...Elena's. Damon had always told Rebekah that he wanted kids sometime in his life, but now that he suddenly had one. One that he had no idea who she or the mother was. He was terrified. Where was Rebekah? Where had she gone? Was she really so pissed with him that she paid off a couple of good actors to play another family of his? He knew there was only one way to find out. He had to find her. Wherever the hell she was he knew that she would be able to give him quite a few answers.

Putting the key in the ignition, Damon made his way to his old house and looked at it his mouth hanging out in shock. No one was there. A for sale sign stood in front of it and even though he knew that this was his house there seemed to be no traces that either him nor Rebekah lived there. He wouldn't accept that. He couldn't accept that his wife was somewhere out there. He needed her. Even if she had been a bitch lately he had still loved her. She was his wife and no matter what fucked up shit was happening at the moment he couldn't just forget about her. For better or worse he made a vow to her and he wouldn't stop until he found her.

It had taken him a few hours and a few minor people stopping him for autographs, but he had finally managed to track her down. He pulled into her new address and looked carefully at it narrowing his eyes slightly. The two story house was in a lovely Victorian style and the yard was filled with toys as if there were small children living here. He guessed there was only one way to find out. He had to go up to the door and see if she was there.

Taking in a few deep calming breaths, Damon opened the door to the mini van and watched his step as he walked up the walkway to the house. He grasped the door knocker and gave it a few good knocks before Rebekah answered looking more happy than the decades of life she had spent with him.

He looked at her puzzled a first, this girl looked a lot like Rebekah but at the same time she didn't look like her. Her usual straight blonde hair was now curled and her blue eyes shined brighter than ever before and her usual polished wardrobe was now replaced with a suburban soccer mom look that she usually would never go for, but when she saw him the huge bright smile that she had worn when she opened the door had faded and the happy gleam that had been in her eyes before was now replaced by a monstrous look that almost made her look as if she was not human. She had given him that look most nights when he had done something terribly wrong and even in this life it still made him uneasy.

"You've got to be kidding me. What are you doing here, Damon?"

Damon looked at her in confusion. He knew things had been bad between them, but it had never been this bad. What was going on here?

"What do you mean Rebekah? You're my wife, I came to get you and to take you home. I'm sorry for being an asshole yesterday before I left for work, but don't you think your joke has gone a little too far?"

"What are yo talking about Damon? You sound like you're some delusional crazy person."

"What do you mean?"

"Well for one we've been divorced for six years."

Damon looked at her in puzzlement. This could not be happening.

"Look Rebekah I know things haven't been great between us these past couple of years and I know that most of it is my fault, but I would never do something this cruel to you. I would never hurt you like this, so please can you just get in this stupid ass mini van and drop the act so we can go back to our life. "

He expected a lot of responses from Rebekah at that point, but laughter was not one of them. His eyebrows stitched together in confusion. If this was just a joke to her than she was taking it a little too far.

"You're joking right? Come on Damon I know you're an actor and all, but this joke has gone a little too far. Listen I know we didn't end on good terms, but I'm happy with Matt now and you're happy with Elena. We both have kids that mean the world to us and we both have significant others that are perfect for us. We were miserable with each other and we got out of a horrible relationship, so please do me a favor and go back to Elena, I know she's probably worried sick by now."

"Rebekah-"

"What?"

"What happened to us?"

Rebekah gave him a sad smile as she pressed her hand against the door.

"Why don't you ask your wife that question?"

And before he could say another word, Rebekah closed the door in his face leaving him to figure out this new life by himself.


	3. Chapter 3

In the Eyes of the Butterfly

Chapter 3

Damon looked long and hard at the house that he had woken up in that morning trying to figure out what the hell had happened to his life to where it had turned out exactly like this. He could tell that Rebekah wasn't joking with him when they had their conversation earlier, but he wasn't really sure how he was just going to go on living in this life without knowing how the hell he got in it in the first place. Sighing he knew that it wouldn't do him no good to not figure out. He had to face his problems head on and there was only one way to do that. He had to talk to Elena.

Getting out of the car, Damon headed to the house and unlocked the door still marveling that this place was his. The door swung open as he stepped inside and went into the kitchen where Elena and Arianna were sitting at the table as Elena watched Arianna color silently. She looked up from where she sat and smiled wearily at him probably still reeling from what occurred that morning. He really hadn't wanted to hurt this girl, but he didn't know her as well as she thought he did and that silently killed him inside. More than she could ever possibly know.

Sighing, Elena pulled a strand of hair back behind Arianna's ear to get her attention as their daughter looked up at her wondering what she was going to ask her.

"Hey sweetie, do you mind going and playing in your room while mommy and daddy make dinner. I'll let you know when it's time to wash up."

"Okay, mommy." The little girl said getting out of the chair and making her way up the stairs.

Elena turned to him giving him a slight nod of acknowledgment as she went to the fridge and started to gather condiments from it.

"Did you want to help me with dinner or did you have plans with someone else tonight?"

He knew she would be mad when he came back to the house, but he still needed his answers and he wouldn't get them by avoiding her forever. If he was stuck in some alternate dimension he would have to play by it's rules. No matter what those rules were.

"No. I can stay."

"Great than you can help me cut the tomatoes for the salad."

"Sure."

Damon went over to where Elena had gestured and grabbed a knife as he stated to cut the tomatoes trying to remember the last time him and Rebekah had done something like this.

The silence continued as they worked in a cohesive unit in the kitchen gathering and making stuff for dinner until Damon couldn't take it anymore. He had to talk to her no matter how pissed off she was at him running out of there this morning. He needed answers and the only way he would be able to get them is if he asked her about them which wouldn't happen if they were going to ignore each other for the rest of the night.

"Elena-"

"Where were you?"

"What?"

"I called your work after you rushed out of here so fast this morning and they told me that you hadn;t been in yet and don't bother lying and saying that you came in later because they called me and said you hadn't been in all day, so please say me the trouble of you lying and tell me where the hell you've been all day."

"I can explain that..."

"By all means go ahead and explain what you were doing all day."

"Elena I know that this won't make sense to you when I explain it but I want you to keep an open mind..."

"Just get on with it Damon. Tiptoeing around the subject isn't going to make things better."

"I know, which is why I'm not going to. The reason I wasn't at work today was because I went to go see Rebekah this morning."

Hurt and betrayal flashed across Elena's face as she turned around gripping onto the counter for support. It pained him to see someone as great as Elena in this mood, but if he were to stand any chance in this new world of his he had to be honest with her. Well at least as honest as he could be without landing himself into a psych ward for sounding like a total whack job.

"Why? Why did you go see her?"

"Elena. I know that me seeing her hurts you, but I woke up this morning very dazed and confused about the past and why everything happened the way that it happened and I panicked. I went to go see her to get answers and all I seemed to get was more questions."

"Well what do you expect when it comes to Rebekah?"

"Why do you talk as if you know her?"

"Because there was a time that I did know her. It's a shame that you already forgot about how we actually met."

"What?"

"Wow. Are you really so shallow and self obsessed that you don;t remember any of the times that we spent together?"

"Sometimes I just need you to remind me."

Elena sighed as a single tear fell down her cheek. He hated that he didn't feel anything for this person who loved him so much, but this wasn't his life. He didn't know anything about this girl and he possibly never would, but it didn't mean he wanted to see her cry. She would just never understand what was going on here.

"Elena, I know that this is hard, but I feel like I haven't been myself lately. I juts need you to help me okay. I don't want to feel this way anymore. I want us to be just the way we used to be, because I hate seeing you cry. Please Elena."

Elena sighed suddenly more frustrated than sad. He didn't blame her, if the situation was reversed he would be pissed too.

"Fine. Fine. If it makes things between us better again than I'll try anything."

Damon nodded willing her to go ahead with her story hoping that it would trigger some memory in his head.

"I remembered the day we met as if it were yesterday-"

Six years ago

"Okay. You're the best. Just remember that and everything will be alright. You got this you know you do." Elena Gilbert said to herself as she stood outside of the movie studio that she hoped she would soon work at.

Taking a deep breath, Elena opened the door where she held up her head high trying to exuberant confidence before everything came crashing down. Elena yelped as she collided with two other people, where one's hot coffee spilled all over here. She yelped jumping two feet back as the blonde girl who's coffee spilled on her narrowed her eyes as if she was the inconvenience here.

"Watch where the hell your walking you idiot." the blonde girl said looking down at the one splotch of coffee on her sleeve.

"Excuse me?"

The blonde woman opened her mouth to speak when the man who stood by her grabbed her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze as to silence her. Great. Just great. She was the one with scolding hot coffee on her and this gorgeous guy was comforting this stuck up bitch.

"Calm down Rebekah. Obviously it was just some misunderstanding. Maybe you should apologize to her for spilling your coffee on her."

"Excuse me? Why the hell are you defending her when she just ruined my new jacket? Do you not get how expensive this is?"

"Yes, because I bought it. Now do me a favor and go meet with the clients while I take care of a few things. I'll meet you up there after a while."

Rebekah sighed as she walked passed Elena bumping into her hard before breezing right through her to whatever meeting they had been in a hurry to catch. Elena sighed in frustration wondering how a human being could be so vein before the man who had spoke to her before finally said something.

"I'm sorry about my wife's behavior. She can be something else some days. Are you okay, by the way? I know scolding hot water can't be pleasant on anyone's skin."

"Well your wife sure as hell didn't make it better with her lack of apology."

"Again I'm sorry about that, Rebekah didn't really grow up in a home where an apology was really a thing so I always take it upon myself to apologize for her."

"Well no offense but you shouldn't have to apologize for her."

"You're right, but I still would like to make it up to you."

"How so?"

"You obviously were looking dolled up for a reason. Let me at least get you a new suit so you could go to wherever you were heading. I'll even pay to have your shirt dry cleaned if that's what you want."

"Why should I take up your offer? I don't even think I have time to do all that. I'm late enough for my interview with the boss as is."

"Oh you're the new intern that we're interviewing today."

"Yep. That's me. Now if you don't excuse me I'm late enough and I really just want to get this interview done."

"Looking like that?"

"What the hell do you expect me to do? I'm already late and I sure as hell won't get the job by being more late than I already am."

"Well you sure as hell won't get the job looking like that either. Come on, let me help you. It's the least I can do and I can put a good word in with my boss as to why you're late so he could at least give you a fighting chance."

"Fine. What else do I have to lose?"

"Excellent. Come on I know just the place to go."

Elena sighed not knowing what would happen next, but excited to see what the hell would happen.

Car horns blared on the street as Elena and Damon walked on the street side by side as she bit into a hog dog that he said she just had to try. It had been an hour since they had gone out in the city and now she had a new business suit for her newly arranged interview and her old one was now in a dry cleaner ready to be worked on. Now they were just enjoying time together until her new interview as they told each other a little bit about each other. It was possibly one of the best times she had had in a while.

"So what do you think of your hot dog?"

"You're right. It is one of the best ones in the city."

"I'm glad that at least you could agree with me. Rebekah always seems to hate what I like. I can't find anything we seem to have in common."

"I know I probably shouldn't impose on someone else's relationship. But why are you married to her if you have nothing in common with her to begin with?"

"I guess when you know someone for all your life than you just feel obligated to end up together."

"But why though? I mean just because you grew up together doesn't mean you have to stay together. People separate all the time, it's only natural."

"You've never met Rebekah before. She's been planning our wedding since she could form a basic, cohesive thought. She's always thought that we were meant to be."

"Do you believe that you two were meant to be?"

"Does anyone really know who they're supposed to end up with?"

"Avoiding the question I asked you isn't a real answer."

"What would be a real answer for you?"

"I don't know. Tell me you can't imagine life without her. That marrying your childhood sweetheart was the best decision of your life. Anything besides the cliche and overused answer that you just gave me."

"Alright. You win. If you must know there are times where I feel like me and Rebekah are meant to be. But-"

"But what?"

"But sometimes I still think about the what if's. What if I was with someone else besides Rebekah? What if there's another girl out there for me and I'm just staying with Rebekah out of obligation to both our families?"

"I'm sorry, Your families are involved in this?"

"Isn't everyone's?"

"No. Most families don't interfere with a person's love life. Well at least mine didn't."

"Consider yourself lucky then."

"Come on. Your parents couldn't be that bad."

"You haven't met our parents. They've had this marriage arranged since the two of us were in diapers."

"Wow. Those seem like some pretty heavy terms and conditions."

"I wasn't aware anyone read the terms and conditions anymore."

"I tend to skim over them every once and a while to see what I signed up for."

"Why do I have a feeling only you would do that?"

"I'm not sure. It's not like you know me or anything."

"Maybe some day I will."

An alarm blared between them causing them to separate away from each other as Elena looked down to see that it was time for her meeting with the big boss. She wasn't even aware how close her and Damon had gotten until she looked up and could peak at Damon's face through her lashes. He smelt good. Like really good. So good that she didn't know how anyone of the female species could stand to be away from him at any given moments. No wonder Rebekah had stuck her claws in him as fast as she could. From what Elena could tell he seemed like a great guy who she wouldn't mind being friends with.

"I guess I better get going. Wouldn't want to fuck up my second interview that I was very fortunate to get another chance for."

"No. I guess we wouldn't want that." he said seeming a little bit more than flirty.

"I guess if I get this job then that means I'll be seeing you around."

"I hope so." He said with a smile as Elena walked away not knowing what her life would hold next.

"So what happened next? How did we get from that point to being married and having a baby together."

"Two babies."

"I'm sorry what."

"I wanted to tell you this morning, but you ran out of here so fast that I couldn't." She said handing him a photo from the inside of her purse pocket.

Damon looked down at the sonogram in his hands and it dropped to the table. He couldn't believe it Elena was -

"I'm pregnant."

Damon's breath stopped short as his muscles contracted. Dammit. How could this be? Why couldn't they have dropped him off on an easier part of this Damon's lifestyle?

"Damon, please say something. We have been planning on this for a while. You even told me how much you wanted another baby. Do you-Do you not want this anymore?"

Damon took another deep breath trying to remind himself that this wasn't his life, but it was somebody else's so he had to think about how the other Damon would logically respond to this question. He was being selfish and still playing this all wrong. He would never get more to the story if he was just acting like his normal self. He had to be him no matter how he felt about Rebekah.

Gathering all the courage he could muster, Damon got out of the chair and hugged Elena as tightly as he could trying to reassure her that he was still the husband that she had grown to love.

"Are you kidding me? This is the happiest news of my life. We're gonna have another baby. Thank God."

"You mean you're not mad?"

"Why would I be mad? You're pregnant and we can have that big family like we've always planned on having. I mean this couldn't have happened at a better time. God I love you." he said taking her face in his hands trying his best to look at her lovingly.

"I love you too Damon Salvatore. I can't believe it we're having another baby." she smiled glowing.

"We're having a baby." He smiled back giving her a kiss that he hoped was convincing.

She pulled away smiling at him as she looked around the kitchen wiping a happy tear from her cheek.

"You know what. I don;t really feel like cooking the rest of this meal. How about we order pizza and enjoy a movie night with our little girl."

"That sounds perfect."

She gave him another kiss and smiled.

"I'm going to make that call." she said heading towards hr phone.

"Try not to take too long. We have quite the night ahead of us."

"I'm looking forward to it." she said leaving him to wonder what the hell he was going to do next.


End file.
